Onion River Exploration Project: Estonia

Sunrise over Estonia

Day 16 (8/16/2010) Day 9 Captains Log Star date (8/16/2010)

Again we are awoken to another beautiful sunrise. We have taken to leaving our curtains open just so we will wake up to enjoy the sunrises which seem to be better each day. What is weird is that we usually are able to catch the sun sets from our balcony as well. We will soon be arriving in Tallinn, Estonia. To stay with our theme of Peter the Great we have booked a tour called “In the footsteps of Peter the Great” or as we call him “The Great Peter”. Tallinn is probably the most rustic city we have been in so far. Like most of these European port cities we have been to there is an old town and a new town. In Tallinn the old town is actually a walled city with massive towers for protection which just sort of got surrounded by the new city. It is very interesting from port though because you can see this little medieval city nestled into the modern city. When entering old town it is like stepping back in time. The streets are very narrow with cobblestone and everything has the feel of the 17th century. It was definitely one of my favorite places. You are also reminded how different another country can be. While we were visiting the palace of the current president of Estonia, which has no fences or gates, a girl on a bicycle goes riding through within yards of the front doors of the building. Many of the people on the tour were from the U.S. and were astonished with the lack of security. I would imagine that he has greater things to fear than his own people. This is definitely a place where I would love to spend more time. I can’t wait to post the pictures from here.